As part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to reduce drug trafficking across the Mexico-US border, both the CIA and US Special Forces have entered Mexico to gain intelligence and secure the border.

The Details: The CIA increased unarmed drone flights over Mexico to find fentanyl labs, and the organization will share with Mexico the intelligence these drones gather. On Monday, 11 Green Berets from the Army’s 7th Special Forces Group entered Mexico to train the country’s Naval Infantry Marines to combat the flow of drugs from Mexico into the US as well as prevent illegal firearms flowing from the US into Mexico. 

The Context: Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum is aware of the drone operations and stated that Mexico will “coordinate without subordinating." The Green Berets are training Mexico’s marines at Sheinbaum’s request. 

How the Media Covered It: Straight Arrow News (Center bias) reported that though the Green Beret’s presence in Mexico has garnered particular attention recently, the branch has “taken part in operations in Panama, Peru, and Ecuador before,” and US troops have “trained with Mexican forces in the past.” New York Times (Lean Left) highlighted that the CIA’s secret drone flights had “begun during the Biden administration” and were “stepped up by President Trump.” The Daily Wire (Right) wrote that the Trump administration deployed these forces to “stop illegal aliens and drugs from pouring into the United States at the unprecedented rate experienced during the Biden administration.”